1965 - CASANOVA 70, a very funny sex comedy.

Marcello Mastroianni one of Italy's best actors never had a problem appearing in films where he made fun of his image as the great Italian lover.  Casanova 70 is one of his best roles.  In this film Mastroianni is a NATO officer who can't get aroused with a woman he wants to screw unless he is in some sort of situation where he's in danger. The best solution his psychiatrist can offer him is maybe he should try men instead of women, apparently a non starter for Mastroianni.

One of the funniest parts of the film is Mastroianni's engagement to the stunning Virni Lisa who Mastroianni can't get aroused around.  Baring her failed engagement to Mastroianni, she has decided to join a convent and become a nun which she has already been in training for anyway, and so it goes in this film.  All of this stuff is orchestrated by the director Mario Monicelli who was one of Italy's top comedy filmmakers.  I'm familiar with Big Deal on Madonna Street his spoof of crime fllms and it's also a very funny film as well.

 

The film is well photographed by Aldo Toni who had worked with Visconti, John Huston, Fellini, and Roberto Rossellini.  The color is vivid but not garish.  Overall the film is very entertaining and has a lot to say about the male ego especially when it comes to their attitudes about women and sex.

 

The film was written by Mario Monicelli, Suso Cecchi d'Amico and Tonino Guerra.  All of them talented Italian film professionals.  The running time is 113 minutes.